“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matt. 18:21-22 (Read 21-35)

How often should we forgive a brother or sister who sins against us? This is the question Peter asked of Jesus.

Note Jesus’ answer: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Jesus did not mean only 490 times, but all the time! Like our Lord, we are always to be “ready to forgive” (Psalm 86:5).

The parable of the unforgiving servant illustrates Jesus’ point to Peter. A certain servant owed the king such a great amount that he would never be able to work off and repay his debt. When the king justly would have sold him and all that he had to recover at least a part of this debt, the servant pleaded for mercy. The king was moved to compassion and forgave the entire debt.

We, like the first servant in this parable, owe to God a greater debt than we can ever repay. Our sins against the LORD God are so great that there is no hope of us ever repaying or making amends for our sins — even thinking that we could do so is foolishness. God’s law demands that we be cast into hell’s eternal prison and suffer there forever the just penalty for our sins. Cf. Rom. 3:9ff.; 6:23a.

There is nothing we can do but plead for mercy!

And God, like the king in Jesus’ parable, is merciful. He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to live a righteous and holy life in our stead and then pay in full the debt of our sins and the sins of all by suffering our just punishment as He was crucified and died upon the cross. God accepted His atoning sacrifice and raised Him up and, in the Gospel, offers to us in Christ mercy instead of judgment, forgiveness instead of eternal damnation. Cf. 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 3:21ff.; 5:6ff.

When we look to God in faith, seeking His mercy in Christ Jesus and for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, God graciously forgives our entire debt of sin. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

But then there is the second part of Jesus’ parable. This same servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him only a very small and insignificant amount in comparison with the huge debt which had been forgiven him. Rather than showing mercy to this servant as he had been shown mercy by his lord, he refused to forgive this small debt and “cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.”

When the king saw that his compassion and forgiveness had no effect on this unforgiving servant, he was angry and “delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.”

In our earthly lives, others sin against us many times; but this debt of sin, though it may seem great to us, is small and insignificant in comparison with the great debt of sin that the LORD God has forgiven us for Jesus’ sake. As a fruit of our faith, and as a result of God’s great mercy to us in Christ Jesus, we ought also to forgive those who sin against us, even “until seventy times seven” (cf. Eph. 4:32).

It is as Jesus said in His parable: If we refuse to forgive from our hearts those who sin against us, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us; instead, He will cast us into the fires of hell to pay in full the punishment due unto us! Cf. Matt. 6:12,14-15.

Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, remove from us their burden sore, as we their trespasses forgive who by offenses us do grieve. Thus let us dwell in charity and serve our brother willingly. Amen.

“Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above,” Martin Luther, TLH, Hymn 458, v. 6

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

The following are excerpts from the 1912 Concordia Publishing House publication: A Short Exposition of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism which was authorized by the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference.

What is Confession?
Confession embraces two parts: one is that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the confessor, as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

What sins should we confess?
Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even of those which we do not know, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; but before the confessor, we should confess those sins only which we know and feel in our hearts.

But how is it with confession before the confessor?
No one should indeed be forced or urged to private confession; but in it a Christian obtains the comfort that to him especially absolution is pronounced, and on such occasion he may ask remission of such particular sins as may above others weigh upon his heart and burden his conscience.

What, then, do you believe according to these words?
I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, especially when they exclude manifest and impenitent sinners from the Christian congregation, and, again, when they absolve those who repent of their sins and are willing to amend, this is as valid and certain, in heaven also, as if Christ, our dear Lord, dealt with us Himself.

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word … I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.” Psalm 119:9, 15 (Read Psalm 119:9-16)

Are you looking for direction in your life? Do you wonder how you can ever get back on track and going the right way? Psalm 119 tells us how to cleanse our way: “By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.” Jesus says it this way: “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it!” (Luke 11:28).

God’s Word calls upon every one of us to repent of our selfish and sinful ways and to turn unto the LORD for His mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, and God’s Word also teaches and guides us in the way He would have us live (cf. Psalm 32).

Therefore, we would be wise to read and study the Bible, to meditate on His precepts and to consider and have respect for His ways. We would do well to hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might walk in His ways and not turn aside and sin against Him.

It is indeed sad that so few take the time to do this. What a tragedy to miss out on knowing the LORD and His ways! What a waste to live one’s life and not know or receive the blessings which He offers and gives for the sake of the shed blood of His only begotten Son! How foolish to neglect so great a salvation simply because we will not hear, read and heed God’s very Word to us!

O LORD God, give us the desire to read and study the Bible and learn of You. Grant that we seek after You with our whole heart. And graciously make us “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

In the Service of Holy Communion, after the bread and wine are consecrated and before they are distributed, we sing the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), which is based on the words of John the Baptist pointing his disciples to Jesus and saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

We sing these words to remind us that we are about to partake of much more than mere bread and wine, for Christ gives to us in the Sacrament to partake of His very body and blood which were given and shed for us upon the cross for the remission of our sins.

As the ancient believers partook of the sacrificial lamb at the Passover, we partake of Christ, God’s Son in human flesh who was sacrificed for us to make full atonement for all our sins. This holy food Christ wills to give to baptized and confessing believers who rightly examine themselves, are penitent and trust in His name.

In the Agnus Dei, we appeal to Jesus, our Messiah and Savior, for mercy and forgiveness and to grant us the peace of sins forgiven.

O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us!
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us Thy peace! Amen.

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25; cf. 17:6

In many ways, these words are the sum of what took place in Israel during the days of the judges. Because the people had no king to rule over them and hold them accountable to one set of laws, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” and the results were not pretty. The people fell into all sorts of sin and idolatry and, again and again, God’s judgments came upon Israel.

Wait, didn’t they have God’s law? Hadn’t God given to Moses the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible)? Yes. But instead of listening to God and what He revealed and commanded them in his Word, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

But what does that have to do with us, God’s people and church members in the 21st century? A lot more than we may think because we have the same problem today in our churches and congregations — “every man [does] that which [is] right in his own eyes.”

Instead of listening to what God has revealed in His Word — the Bible — we do what we think is best. Instead of letting God speak to us in the Bible and show us His will and His ways, we apply our own opinions and our own faulty understandings to the Bible. We accept the parts of the Bible which agree with our thoughts and opinions, and we reject and ignore what does not.

In truth, this is a contradiction to God’s commandment which forbids us to serve other gods and make graven images: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Ex. 20:3-4).

We may not make a golden calf and call it by the name of the LORD as the children of Israel did at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 32), but we make a god after our own image and in our likeness — a god who thinks as we think, whose commandments reflect our own beliefs and opinions, whose doctrines conform to our views and understanding. And, sadly, when we are confronted with the true God of the Bible and His words and commandments, we reject Him in favor of the idol and image of God we have created in our own minds. “Every man [does] that which [is] right in his own eyes.”

The true God, of course, does not condone such actions on our part. Moses commanded the people in regard to their worship: “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deut. 12:8). Rather, they were to conform their worship and sacrifices to God’s commandments. In Proverbs 12:15, God says: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” And we would be wise to listen to the counsel of the LORD God in His Word!

We need to remember that the Church and each congregation of believers is not “our church” but “God’s church.” We have no business setting up our own church so that we can do what is right in our own eyes. Rather, we are to join together in following Christ, hearing His life-giving Word, receiving the Sacraments He instituted and continuing in all that He has commanded us.

Through Holy Baptism, we are joined to Christ as our husband and head, which means that we are to be subject unto Him in all things (cf. Eph. 5:22ff.). The words which the minister proclaims must not be his own words and opinions but those of God, as recorded in the Bible. The administration of the Sacraments is not to be according to our views and opinions but according to Christ’s institution and the commands of Holy Scripture. Our worship practices are not subject to our personal likings and preferences but are to be in accord with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures and to build up Christ’s Church. The business decisions of the congregation are not to further personal interests or opinions but to advance the kingdom of God through the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word and the right administration of the Sacraments.

If we do what is right in our own eyes, we will find we miss the blessing which God would give us by continuing in His ways and holding fast in faith to our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to redeem us from our sins and rose again to give us life through faith in His name.

O God, grant that we walk by faith in Christ Jesus and His Word and not according to what is right in our own eyes. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]